Humor & Laughter for Lawyers: Why You Need it Now
Lawyers especially need to have laughter breaks during this pandemic and time of national upheaval.
In his famous book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote:
“Humor was another of the soul’s weapons in the fight for self-preservation. It is well known that humor, more than anything, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds.”
Frankl's words remind us that humor and laughter are not for occasional indulgence, but necessary practices for building up resilience for when life is painful and difficult.
Scientists and anthropologists have been studying laughter and why it exists for quite some time. Currently, it’s theorized that laughter existed in humans before language developed and had nothing to do with humor. Instead, the laugh and the smile were used to indicate good intentions and the desire to get along. Laughter induced by tickling games is common to many primates, as well as the often-studied rat.
Further studies show that laughter, especially with eye contact, synchronizes brain waves. For a “helpless” baby, this syncing of brain waves during eye contact and laughter is the brain’s way of heightening the chances that the baby will be taken care of.
The pandemic is providing an opportunity for us, in the words of Frankl, to "rise above" the situation. And while infamous “lawyer jokes” abound (thanks, Shakespeare!) and often demean the profession, an article in the American Bar Association Journal, "Dealing With Lawyer Jokes, 'Restatement of Retorts' Provides the Rejoinder," suggests lawyers turn the joke’s punchline around so that it does not belittle lawyers—and provides a few plum examples.
And here are some links to articles on lawyers and coronavirus humor on websites specifically for lawyers: Seven Great #lawtwitter Tweets from the Age of Coronavirus, Laughs in the Time of Coronavirus, Stir Craziness During the Pandemic,There Must be an Upside to Every Pandemic.